Meganne Christian meets Shaun the Sheep

ESA has unveiled its new events venue in the UK as part of an event that showcased the strong cooperation between the UK and the agency.

Among the event’s attendees were British ESA Reserve Astronaut Meganne Christian and Shaun the Sheep, ESA’s specially trained woolly astronaut.

Along with astronaut candidate Rosemary Coogan and John McFall, who is taking part in ESA’s Fly! Feasibility Study, Meganne was recruited into ESA’s new class of astronauts in November 2022.

Meganne recently began a new role as the UK Space Agency’s Reserve Astronaut & Exploration Commercialisation Lead, in which she will work on exploration projects and support programmes to inspire students about careers in the space industry.

Earlier this year, Shaun the Sheep became Europe's first lunar ‘lamb-bassador’ after returning to UK following the Artemis I mission, which took him around the Moon and back. Shaun made the journey in NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which was powered by ESA’s European Service Module.

Artemis I launched on 16 November 2022 and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 11 December. The mission did not carry a human crew but instead was controlled from the ground with its woolly specialist as a passenger.